Report: Draft Options Being Explored In CBA Talks

There has been talk of a revised draft being discussed in the CBA negotiations for some time. Months ago, reports surfaced from multiple outlets about the union offering a solution for increased competitiveness through granting lottery teams multiple first-round picks. That idea sparked quite a bit of debate. Now Chris Sheridan, formerly of ESPN and hot on the heels of his report of how the two sides aren’t that far apart, dropped this little bombshell Wednesday: the owners want a third round of the draft. From SheridanHoops.com:

SheridanHoops.com has learned that NBA owners have proposed adding a third round to the annual draft, a proposal that the players’ union has countered by offering an array of changes to the draft that would help address the owners’ desire for more competitive balance.

Sheridan also lays out multiple options being offered from the union’s side, including two variations on the multiple-first-round-pick scenario. One such scenario eliminates playoff teams from the first-round altogether (outside of the last team in), giving teams 1-15 picks 16-30. That’s going to set off calls of alarm from everyone from people who think it’s basketball socialism (gasp) to fans of teams who traditionally finish top five and don’t want to lose a competitive edge for being good.

But there’s a lot of interesting elements at work with both proposals.

A third round is going to create a cacophony of “What’s the point?!” debate. In short, the second round of the draft this year was an abject joke, with teams taking guys with red flags who clearly will not play a second in the NBA. (At least that’s the widely-held projection; remember, this is the NBA draft, the greatest crapshoot you can find outside of Vegas.) So if they’re not getting value from the second round, why add a third? Here’s an alternative question asked by Scott Schroeder of RidiculousUpside.com on Twitter: Why not?

After all, if the contracts aren’t guaranteed, then there’s no harm, no foul adding a third round. It’s only going to force teams to work harder, create a larger spectacle of the draft, and give teams more chances to get a good solid look at a player. The best thing about a third round is what it likely comes in conjunction with, a revamped NBA D-League. The D-League’s current structure is still in the exploratory phase. Teams are adding their own affiliates quickly, but it’s taken years to get the league to a point where teams will commit, and even then, they’re still wary. A renovation to the D-League’s structure would create extra roster spots (on an assignment level) for the players drafted late 2nd-early 3rd. It means that those players who teams really like and would like to take a longer look at would get a chance to play under a team’s system, versus having to go pursue a career overseas far from the eye of the team. Additionally, it removes some of the danger in reaches. If you draft a player based solely on his athletic ability in the 2nd, or his size, perhaps, and discover in camp that he’s a nightmare in terms of conditioning or, well, ability, that third-rounder gives you another player you have rights to with which to hit a home run. Is it going to happen very often? Of course not. It’s also worth the minimal level of investment necessary. The additional work and subsequent job creation for scouts and draft personnel in such a situation is a nice added benefit as well.

It also means another hour of NBA draft coverage, which could just be really long for everyone involved.

Love the idea of lottery teams getting multiple 1st round picks. A 3rd round is pointless, most of the players who would be selected would be foreign nobody’s, just like the 2nd round this year. Also, these “3rd round players” could use one more year of seasoning and then they may be 1st rounders the following year.